Child Well-being in Flanders: A Multidimensional Account |
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Authors: | Joris?Ghysels Email author" target="_blank">Evelien?Van VlasselaerEmail author |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Sociology, Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp, Sint-Jacobstraat 2, Room 481, Antwerp, 2000, Belgium;(2) Department of Sociology, Centre for Social Policy, University of Antwerp, Sint-Jacobstraat 2, Room 471, Antwerp, 2000, Belgium |
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Abstract: | In this article we characterise the well-being of young children in the Belgian region of Flanders. We focus on three commonly
used indicators: educational attainment, the existence of special needs and the occurrence of problematic behaviour. The former
derives from a relatively impartial source, the schooling system, while the latter two originate from parental assessment.
Somewhat surprisingly, the different measures are only weakly associated with each other. Moreover, negative outcomes tend
to correlate with different characteristics of the child and the household, depending on the well-being indicator used. Only
a low level of education of the mother and the fact the child is living in a single parent family is consistently associated
with negative outcomes. This is not true, however, for a whole range of other characteristics, like the work schedule of the
parents, the sex of the child, the child’s rank in the line of siblings or the number of children in the household. Consequently,
policy makers should be wary of quick conclusions when presented with results from single indicator research. Educational
lagging, for example, may seem a very objective measure of problems, yet it does not necessarily coincide with problematic
behaviour nor a parental perception of special needs. Hence, political action is not self-evident and may require additional
justification. For future research, a more thorough investigation about the links between the various indicators of child
well-being seems indicated.
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Keywords: | Child well-being Educational attainment Strengths and difficulties questionnaire Belgian region of Flanders |
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